


Technician, Free Thyself

by Jackdaw816



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chameleon Arch (Doctor Who), Episode: s02e12 Fragments, Fobwatched Time Lord, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26706292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackdaw816/pseuds/Jackdaw816
Summary: Tosh had never felt comfortable in her own skin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 24
Collections: Torchwood Fan Fests: Bingo Fest 2020





	Technician, Free Thyself

**Author's Note:**

> Penultimate bingo fic!!
> 
> Squares filled: Timelord AU

Eight months, seventeen days, five hours, twenty-three minutes, thirty-five seconds. That’s how long Toshiko Sato had been in the UNIT prison. She had no watch, no way of tracking the time, but she knew it anyway. She had always known.

The call for inspection had come and she’d stood, shaking, against the far wall. The door had swung open to reveal a tall bloke in a long coat, his shoulders squared. She peered at him through her bangs, wondering just what he was here to do. UNIT hadn’t tortured her; she no longer had anything they wanted. But maybe that was just the problem. She’d become useless. And he was here to dispose of her.

They stood in silence for several moments, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Eventually, he told her to come with him in a voice that was a hair from breaking. She tried not to read too much into it. No one from UNIT had any pity for her, and he wouldn’t either.

He didn’t speak again until they were both sitting at a table in an empty room. She had a steaming mug of soup on a tray in front of her, but she didn’t touch it. The man quipped about the catering, but Tosh ignored him. Her mother was safe. One small mercy. The man refused to give a name, playing Odysseus instead. Nobody, her arse.

He stood suddenly and Tosh suppressed a flinch. He’d said he wasn’t a lawyer, but by the way he circled her, he was definitely a shark of some sort. 

“They’re never going to release you,” he’d said bluntly. “I’m sorry.” And he’d almost looked genuine, but Tosh didn’t believe it. He would leave, and she’d be stuck in her dank cell until she died. 

She looked down at the mug, then sharply up again when he sat on the table. He held something out, inches from her face. For a second, she expected it to be the sonic modulator, proof of her crimes. But, no, this was too small; it rested neatly in his palm. A fob watch. A completely ordinary-looking fob watch.

“Do you know what this is?” he asked, watching her face intently. She shook her head. “Are you sure? It was found in your flat?” She shook her head again.

“I’ve never seen it before,” Tosh answered honestly. 

“But I’m sure you recognize this?” the man said, now pulling the sonic modulator from his coat. He set the fob watch on the table, and Tosh resisted the sudden urge to pick it up. “You made it after all.”

“I just followed the plans,” Tosh said humbly. They were complex, but nothing she couldn’t handle. The man looked at her, intrigued.

“But there are very few humans who could even manage to grasp the concept of what a sonic modulator does,” he said, sounding simultaneously impressed and defensive. “Not to mention, the plans don’t work.”

“What?” Tosh said, shocked. But it had worked! She could remember the pain, the throbbing in her head. That wasn’t fake. It had definitely worked.

“The technical plans you followed, they were wrong. They had mistakes in them.” He grinned at her warily. “But you, Toshiko Sato, you fixed things as you went along. What I’m trying to say is, oh baby, you’re good.” She blushed slightly at his praise, still not entirely believing it.

“It was easy,” she said mildly. “It just all made sense. That sort of stuff always has.” His look turned thoughtful and he moved his free hand to the fob watch on the table. He flipped it over to reveal that the other side was inscribed with, well, she wasn’t exactly sure how to describe it. Circles, definitely circles. It was an emblem or a rune of some kind perhaps. Whatever it was, she didn’t recognize it, and she said as much.

“Are you sure?” he asked, an edge to his voice. “It’s Gallifreyan script.” She flinched almost imperceptibly, but he noticed it and responded with rapid-fire questions. “Does that sound familiar? Do you know the Doctor? Did he give you this?” She shook her head each time, the urge to touch the watch growing even stronger. So, she picked it up.

He didn’t stop her, just watched as she ran a delicate finger over the etching. There was a little voice in her head, but instead of warning her to stop, it bade her open it. And so she did, thumb pressing the button.

Golden mist issued from inside, and Tosh gasped softly. It was beautiful. She took a breath and it entered her, feeling like a hug from a long-lost friend. Until it **hurt**. She screamed, the light consuming her. She heard the man shout, but there was nothing he could do. The pain reached its zenith and with a final, shuddered breath, Tosh lost consciousness.

“Toshiko! Toshiko!” Waking was almost gentle. The stone of the floor was cold, but her twin hearts beat double time keeping her warm. And for the first time in years, Tosh finally felt comfortable in her own body. But then, she wasn’t really Toshiko now, was she?

The man helped her back into her chair, and she stared at him, wide-eyed. Time was bending around him, curling like wisps of smoke and snaking away. He was something to be feared or something to be beheld. He was wrong, but he was glorious.

“Who are you?” she asked, voice ringing with a long-withheld grandeur. He froze for a moment, then spoke.

“Captain Jack Harkness.” The name matched the face, confidence oozing from every pore. “And who are you? ‘Cause I don’t think you’re Toshiko Sato.”

“I was,” she said softly. “But before I was Tosh, they called me the Technician.”


End file.
